Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2-2007
Journal
Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
Volume
74
Issue
12
First Page
67
Last Page
75
Abstract
Mortalities of Penaeus vannamei, cultured in ponds in Belize, Central America, began during the last part of the grow-out cycle during the cold weather months from September 2004 through February 2005. Tissue squashes of infected hepatopancreata and histological examination of infected shrimp revealed that the mortalities might have been caused by an endoparasite. To confirm the diagnosis, DNA was extracted from ethanol preserved hepatopancreata and the small-subunit rRNA gene was sequenced. The 1838 by sequence was novel and phylogenetic analysis placed the P. vannamei parasite within the phylum Haplosporidia as a sister taxon to a clade that includes Bonamia and Minchinia species. In situ hybridization was performed using anti-sense DNA probes that were designed to hybridize specifically with the parasite's nucleic acid. This organism presents similar characteristics to those of a haplosporidian that infected cultured P. vannamei imported from Nicaragua into Cuba, as described by Dykova et al.
DOI
10.3354/dao074067
Keywords
haplosporidian; shrimp; parasite; molecular phylogenetic analysis
Recommended Citation
Nunam, LM; Lightner, DV; Pantoja, CR; Stokes, NA; and Reece, Kimberly S., Characterization of a rediscovered haplosporidian parasite from cultured Penaeus vannamei (2007). Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 74(12), 67-75.
10.3354/dao074067
